Houston at Texas MLB Odds Analysis

On Thursday afternoon, the Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros wrap up a four-game set in Arlington. The Rangers (36-22) are in first place in the American League West and have the best record in the entire league, second only to the Chicago Cubs in all of MLB. The Astros (28-32) are 9 games behind the Rangers in the West. The Astros had won 8 of 10 coming into this series but dropped the first two games of this series, by 6-5 and 4-3 scores. Find the latest MLB online betting lines here.

Houston Astros at Texas Rangers MLB Odds Analysis

When: Thursday, June 9, 2:05pm Eastern time Where: Globe Life Park, Arlington, TX TV: RTSW, FSSW Radio: 105.3 FM The Fan Dallas Live Stream: MLB.tv MLB Odds: TBA Pitching Matchup: Collin McHugh (5-4, 4.97 ERA) (HOU) vs Martin Perez (4-4, 3.24 ERA) (TEX)    

Why should you bet on Houston?

At some point a streak has to end, right? The Rangers have now won 12 in a row at home against the Astros, dating back to last season, and they have won all eight games between the two teams so far this season. The Astros send Collin McHugh to the hill, and in his last start he masterfully spun a complete game (the first of his career), beating the Arizona Diamondbacks. Even though Prince Fielder has a .727 career average against McHugh, Fielder has stayed below .200 with his hitting this year, and so McHugh has a good shot at ending his team’s streak of awfulness against the Rangers.

Why should you put your money on the Rangers?

The Rangers are rolling right now. They entered a series with Seattle last Friday tied with them for the division lead and then pulled off a three-game sweep. Then they won the first two games against Houston, and now they have a 4 ½-game lead over Seattle. In Tuesday’s win, they patiently took on 2015 Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel, waiting for him to leave a fat pitch out over the plate, which he finally did in the eighth inning, and Ian Desmond made him pay with a two-run blast. Rangers starter Martin Perez has a career record of 4-2 with a 1.71 ERA in six starts against the Astros.

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

I like Perez to keep on top of the Astros’ offense, and such big bats as Elvis Andrus (.429 lifetime against McHugh) and Adrian Beltre (.429) to get the offense that Texas needs. I’m predicting a 5-3 Ranger win.